This weekend I noticed
that my demitasse spoons were in need of a little TLC. I am no fan of
polishing, so I try to keep it simple. My sister-in-law recently gave me a
"recipe" for cleaning silver so that's what I tried. It mimics a
method I learned about at a home show years ago and I have to say that it is
preferable to dragging out tarnish polish, cloths, etc. There is a reason I
have practically no silver under my roof!
In a heatproof pan,
spread a piece of aluminum foil with the shiny side up. I used a thin "plate" that I
purchased for this very purpose at the home show, but the foil will accomplish the
same goal. Place your pieces flat on the
foil and sprinkle liberally with baking soda. Pour nearly-boiling water on top and allow it to soak for about 5
minutes. If it doesn't bubble or fizz, add more baking soda and make sure your water is hot. Once clean, rinse and gently pat dry.
It worked well with
three of my five spoons. Two had very ornate designs which did not
completely clean to my satisfaction, so I borrowed some tarnish polish from my
mother and gave them a quick supplemental wiping down. Most of the work was done by the baking soda soak.
My grandmother
collected demitasse spoons and each had a story. She acquired some on travels
and others were gifts from family and friends. I remember when we were little, my cousins and I would play with them. The last one in the row below was always my favorite because I thought the birds were so realistic and so beautiful! I have
five of hers and my dad made this display rack for them. The brass plate in the bottom corner reads, "Grandmother's Spoons". The framed shadow box above the spoon rack holds my baby spoon and fork. Not only does baking soda make cleaning silver easy, it's also natural. Do you use any natural cleaning methods?
